Post navigation

Seahawks Bow Out of State Tourney

BERLIN- Stephen Decatur’s varsity football team’s 2011 season came to a close last weekend with a 49-0 loss to Atholton in the state Class 3A-East semifinals.

The Seahawks beat county rival Snow Hill in the regular season finale to finish with a 7-3 record and clinch the fourth and final playoff spot in the 3A-East region. However, the playoff berth came with one enormous catch. The Seahawks would have to face a juggernaut in top-seeded Atholton on the road in order to advance to the region final and keep its season alive.

All Atholton did during the regular season was the run the table with a perfect 10-0 record in games on the field. However, Atholton was forced to forfeit its season opener after it was revealed the team had violated off-season practice schedule rules. Otherwise, Atholton was perfect on the year and held its 10 opponents to a combined 55 points.

That 55 point total held up last weekend as Atholton blanked Decatur, 49-0, in the 3A-East semifinals. As has been the case in recent years, especially since Decatur made the move to the state’s 3A classification, the Seahawks struggled with a bigger, faster and deeper opponent in the state playoffs. Last year, for example, the Seahawks snuck in to the fourth and final 3A-East playoff spot by winning its last five games of the season, only to get thumped by top-seeded River Hill, 47-14, in the first round.

Meanwhile, two other Bayside Conference schools, Wicomico and Kent Island, won their semifinal games in the state 2A-East region and will face each other in the 2A-East championship game. Wicomico, seeded second in the region with a 9-1 mark, beat Fallston, 38-15, in its semifinal, while top-seeded Kent Island, also 9-1, beat Patterson Mill, 28-19 in its region semifinal.